Schools weigh priorities when tackling substance use prevention

Faced with the decision of which educational program to choose to combat drug use among students, many school district leaders in Oregon pick several. 

To meet the state’s health standards, which require schools to teach kids about the effects of drugs and alcohol, district leaders select a general health curriculum. To address student well-being, considered a critical protective factor against drug use, they select what’s known as a social-emotional curriculum. And to supplement all of that, they sometimes work with local health or law enforcement officials to improve students’ decision-making skills and drive home the possible consequences of becoming addicted to drugs.

Meanwhile, less than a third of fourth graders in Oregon read or do math at grade level, according to national standardized test scores. By high school, many students have additional concerns – 38% of 11th graders who participated in Oregon’s 2022 Student Health Survey reported feeling depressed in the past year and nearly 70% reported feeling anxiety in the past month. Nearly 15% said they seriously considered suicide in the past year. Students struggling with poverty and housing insecurity need shelter, food and health care. 

Public schools are held primarily responsible for addressing all of these issues in the lives of the state’s children, so the goal of finding a program experts have deemed highly likely to reduce substance-use disorder is never the only priority….

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Photo Credit: Kristyna Wentz-Graff/OPB